Caregiving Tips

A big part of engaging in our programs is actually getting to the programs! You are of course welcome to provide your own transportation, but we know this may not work for every family situation. Here are a few door-to-door transportation options available in Northern Virginia to get here safely.

Our grief as caregivers can be so overwhelming. We may question ourselves “each day it feels like I am in persistent mourning, yet no death has occurred. I have lost loved ones to death before, so why now are my feelings as a dementia care partner so overwhelming?” Each day we may feel as if we are on a carousel of emotions - grief, loss, sadness, anger, joy, acceptance; a mixture of hope and despair, round and round we go. We must recognize the psychological impact of the ambiguous loss which accompanies our walk with our care person on this journey with dementia in order to begin to manage our unresolved grief.

Making important decisions for aging parents can be a challenging task, but Power of Attorney (PoA) can provide peace of mind and clarity in times of need. This article from Legacy Lawyers, PLLC will walk you through the different types of PoAs, why and when to consider a PoA, and how to choose a PoA.

When most people think of Parkinson’s disease, they think of a tremor. While movement symptoms are more noticeable, there are also cognitive changes that accompany the disease. During Parkinson's Awareness month, learn more and connect with resources from the Parkinson's Foundation.

Dementia gradually diminishes a person’s ability to communicate. Communication with a person with dementia requires patience, understanding and good listening skills. Learn more about effective communication strategies in dementia care.

Around 3 million LGBTQ+ adults are over age 50, and those that receive a dementia diagnosis face a particularly challenging set of circumstances. Many, including care partners, face disproportionately high levels of social isolation and stigmatization as they age, making it difficult to find support. Watch our recent webinar at take a look at the resource listing!

It seems as though everyone makes New Year’s resolutions – eat healthy, clean out the house, exercise more, the list could go on and on. And despite our best intentions, these resolutions are usually out the window before we’ve even turned the calendar over to February. However, resolutions can be a great way to start off the New Year when you can keep them! Here are 5 resolutions for care partners that you can actually keep!

Tuesday, November 29th is Giving Tuesday, a worldwide day of giving. You’ve probably heard of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday as shopping days – Giving Tuesday is day to celebrate giving! We celebrated live on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube all day – sharing resources, caregiving tips, advice, and stories. Check out the panels and presentations!

If you’ve been noticing changes in memory, for yourself or a loved one, making that first doctor’s appointment is a daunting step. Being prepared can help ease the stress and make the most of your time! Here’s what to bring, what to expect, and some questions to ask at your visit.

In the midst of summer, many of us reach for our favorite beach reads, looking forward to a few hours relaxing. However, as a caregiver for someone with memory impairment, those relaxing moments can be few and far between – and the few you have, that time is valuable! If you’re looking to make the most of your summer reading list, here are a few recommendations that we and other care partners have found helpful.

Many of us worry how seeing our grief affects our loved ones, especially as they may or may not still have the ability to process or comprehend the tragedy. It’s not possible to shield your loved one from everything all the time, so how can you best respond?

Memorial Day is just around the corner, which not only means the start of summer, but also the start of summer travel! Memory impairment adds a level of stress to taking a summer vacation, but whether you’re planning a day trip to visit family or a cross-country excursion, there are ways to minimize the anxiety. Here are a few tips to keep in mind for travel.

If you’ve had a loved one prone to wandering, you know how stressful this topic can be. The caregiver has to decide how much “freedom” a person with Alzheimer’s disease should have. At some point the person’s need to be safe will outweigh their diminished ability to decide where they want to go and when. Here are a few tips to ease wandering concerns.

With winter weather comes many things – a pretty dusting of snow, hot chocolate with marshmallows, and lots (and lots!) of indoor time. Freezing temperatures can easily make you go stir crazy, especially when trying to also care for and entertain a loved one with dementia. It’s easy to just default to watching TV all day, but by varying the types of activities you engage in, it really can still be the great indoors for everyone!

Receiving a diagnosis of dementia, or having a loved one diagnosed, can cause a range of emotions, from shock to relief. But what happens next? We’ve put together a checklist of things for you, your family, and support team to consider over the next few months (or more!) as you navigate your journey.

When holiday traditions have to be adjusted for a loved on with dementia, it can be hard to – well – adjust! With a few simple tweaks and managing expectations, the holiday season really can be enjoyable for everyone. Whether you
use a tip each day or unwrap them all at once, we hope these ideas can help you create a happy holiday season.

We celebrated Giving Tuesday this year by Getting Ready! We had four great panels and presentations as we shared more about getting ready for the holidays - and caregiving throughout the year! Watch and learn more about what to look for when visiting aging parents, ideas to enjoy the holiday season, and a sneak peek of our new Sterling space!

The opportunity to become a caregiver for a loved one can be a blessing and bring you closer. However, it can also be overwhelming! You have to deal with everything from how to switch a reversed sleep schedule to finding meaningful activities to fill the day. In honor of National Family Caregivers Month, here are 30 top tips from our Caregiving at a Glance Guide - one for each day of November!

Lewy body dementia is the second most common type of dementia, with an estimated 1.4 million Americans diagnosed. In honor of Lewy Body Dementia Awareness Month, we've put together a few resources, both at Insight and in the wider community that may benefit your family.

When a family member receives a diagnosis of dementia, it’s a huge puzzle to piece together. Our first thoughts usually focus on the person: How can we help them? How quickly might they progress? What kind of care are they going to need? But this is just the start of the puzzle; we often overlook the crucial caregiving piece! The family caregiver’s role is of vital importance. Caregivers have to take on many new roles— doctor, lawyer, financial planner, and caretaker—often not knowing where to start. Here are 5 tips for starting to build your caregiving skills.

When you hear the word “driving,” what comes to mind? Speeding down the open road, convertible top down, wind in your hair, driving off into the sunset? We’d all like to think of driving as idealistic, but in reality, it’s often more like stoplights, tailgaters, brake lights, and really just a necessity for getting to work and running errands. It is this commonplace driving situation that can become the most dangerous as dementia progresses. Delayed reaction times, poor judgment, inability to stay attentive behind the wheel, and frustration can be highly problematic in the stop-and-go traffic of Northern Virginia. So when is it time to stop driving?

Caregiving is a long, hard, full time job and caregivers are often called the hidden victims of Alzheimer’s disease. Although changes in the brain occur only in the person diagnosed with dementia, changes in behaviors, lifestyle, and demands occur for both the person living with dementia and the caregiver. Get some tips from our guide on managing your job as a caregiver.

Every caregiver seems to have an arsenal of comical caregiving tales to share with anyone who can relate. When caring for someone with a disease whose devastating effects and chronic long-term stressors are arguably unmatched, it is no wonder we hold so closely to these little pockets of joy. After all, as Henry Ward Beecher explained, “A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It’s jolted by every pebble on the road.”

It seems as though everyone makes New Year’s resolutions – eat healthy, clean out the house, exercise more, the list could go on and on. And despite our best intentions, these resolutions are usually out the window before we’ve even turned the calendar over to February. However, resolutions can be a great way to start off the New Year when you can keep them! Here are 5 resolutions for caregivers that you can actually keep!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year – so the song goes. With all the parties, food – ok hold up. Scratch that last sentence. Normally this is the time of year we’d be posting advice for how to manage the holidays with everything that’s going on. Well, it’s 2020. So naturally nothing is going as planned. But, even though our holidays look a bit – okay, a lot! – different this year, here are some tips for making this the most wonderful time of the year, even in 2020.

Communication is 7% verbal (words and their meanings), 55% voice (pitch, tone, tempo, volume), and 38% body language (facial expressions, eyes, posture, movements, gestures). This is important because people with dementia may no longer understand the meaning of the words but they will be able to understand the remaining 93% of your communication. Make sure your body and voice are conveying the same message your words are trying to convey. Here are some tips for communication.

As much as you may try to avoid it, for many of us caring for a loved one with dementia hospitalization happens. Sometimes it is planned, sometimes unplanned, but it’s always stressful. But did you know that nearly 1 in 5 seniors who are hospitalized return to the hospital within 30 days? This just adds more stress! Hospital re-admissions can be avoidable when you are confident in your loved one’s discharge plan the first time around. Make sure that you can confidently make these 5 statements before leaving the hospital to help your loved one avoid another stay.

I’ve been having a lot of trouble with keeping up my responsibilities at home. These are all things that my husband and I used to share, but I’m starting to get overwhelmed with everything. It’s all up to me to care for him, clean the house, pay the bills, and then people tell me to take care of myself. But how am I supposed to have time to do that when I have so much to deal with?

Insight was the place where my brother would go for a fun, entertaining, and engaging day. Right now, of course, he’s spending a lot of time at home. I don’t have a background in recreation or activities or anything like that and I don’t really feel comfortable leading any kind of activities at home. Is there anything else in terms of activities you would suggest?

I’m having a lot of trouble trying to provide care to my wife. She always gets upset whenever I try to help her in the shower or with toileting. I don’t know what to do anymore because sometimes she gets really upset with me by yelling, and sometimes she’ll tell me that she’s already showered or gone to the bathroom when I know she didn’t. I’m getting very frustrated and overwhelmed with how she is reacting. Please help!

I’ve gotten into some arguments with my mom over the past couple of weeks and I feel like this didn’t used to happen. I feel short with her when I go over to her house to check in with her and it makes me concerned for our relationship. Any advice?

Giving yourself permission to take care of yourself is the first step in allowing yourself time for self-care. Making sure that you take care of yourself is just as important - if not more important - than taking care of your loved one! But now you may be asking, how do I actually do that? Here are a few suggestions that might be helpful as you begin to allow yourself time for self-care.

I’m so overwhelmed caregiving for my wife at home; every day is getting harder and harder for both of us. I know that you have an Adult Day program, but I don’t see how I could get my wife to agree to go to your Center. She doesn’t think that she has a problem. What do you suggest?

In the earlier stages you may have to face the “when-is-it-time-to-stop-driving?” issue. Some people with Alzheimer’s disease have good insight about what is happening to them and give up the keys when they feel unsafe or unsure. Others may not have any insight and insist that they can and should continue driving. You may be faced with the task of deciding when driving skills, judgment, and/or visual spatial perceptions have deteriorated. You will have to decide when driving puts the person with dementia and/or others at risk. Here are some tips to help with giving up the keys.

If you’ve had a loved one prone to wandering, you know how stressful this topic can be. You may find yourself constantly worrying about the person getting lost, feeling trapped in your home, or overwhelmed at the person always being on the go. You as the caregiver have to decide how much “freedom” a person with Alzheimer’s disease should have. At some point the person’s need to be safe will outweigh their diminished ability to decide where they want to go and when. Here are a few tips to ease wandering concerns.

Sharing a meal means more to most people than simple nutrition. When life-long eating patterns change due to dementia, caregivers can easily be frustrated. Trying to meet nutritional needs can be challenging enough, while also missing the social needs that sharing meals once filled for both of them. Here are a few tips to try to make mealtime more successful.

Caregivers are often used to doing it all. They’re care providers, event planners, medication aides, financial resources, advocates, emotional supporters, and the list goes on. With the stress and uncertainly of the current pandemic upon us, how can a caregiver possibly take on any more roles? Remember why you decided to become a caregiver in the first place. More often than not, it’s because of a strong connection with your loved one you’re caring for. Rather than stressing over how to fulfill the myriad of roles, the question to focus on now is: how can I stay connected with my loved one?

Life provides us with many challenging moments. As I write this we are in the middle of a global pandemic. If that wasn’t a challenge enough, simultaneously, some of us are also coping with a newly diagnosed medical condition, others placement into hospice care, a dementia care residence, or moving into a new home. During stressful times, taking a conscious inventory of our day to day self-care choices is so very important for our emotional and physical well-being.

Socialization for people with Parkinson’s disease can provide support, community, laughter, camaraderie, a chance to practice vocal skills, and to feel a part of a unified group. Interaction with others dealing with a common illness can offer comfort and help people relate to one another. Sharing thoughts and feelings is cathartic and expressive. Staying socially active in the community can help the mind and body. Being with friends and family boosts our spirits, fights sadness and gives us a sense of belonging.

We all communicate constantly throughout the day. Phone calls, emails, conversations, now FaceTime and Skpye – there are a million ways we communicate without even thinking about it. Much of this communication comes naturally, so why is communication so challenging with those who have dementia?

Now that we're all spending a lot more time at home, here's a helpful task to add to the spring cleaning list: making your space more dementia friendly. Don't worry, "Designing for Dementia" makes it sound a lot more complicated than it really is! Using a few design best practices, you'll find there are a number of small changes you can make at home that will have a big impact on the quality of life for both you and your loved one.

You wear many hats throughout the day, but one you probably didn’t anticipate is that of detective. However, when our loved ones exhibit troubling behaviors, playing detective can be the key to interpreting what these behaviors mean.

There are many lifestyle things that change as dementia progresses, from every day routines to special occasions. Many families still choose to travel and do so successfully. Whether it is a day trip in the car or an international vacation, it takes some planning to ensure safety for the person living with the diagnosis, sanity for the care partner, and lower anxiety for everyone involved. Here are my top 10 tips for successful travel.

Change is always hard, and for individuals with memory loss change can be even harder. Relocation especially, and other significant environment changes, are often traumatic. As a caregiver, knowing what to expect, how you can prepare, and how to make these transitions more comfortable is key.

It is this commonplace driving situation that can become the most dangerous as dementia progresses. Delayed reaction times, poor judgment, inability to stay attentive behind the wheel, and frustration can be highly problematic in the stop-and-go traffic of Northern Virginia. So when is it time to stop driving?

Every caregiver seems to have an arsenal of comical caregiving tales to share with anyone who can relate. When caring for someone with a disease whose devastating effects and chronic long-term stressors are arguably unmatched, it is no wonder we hold so closely to these little pockets of joy.